In this article
- What is ChatGPT? The essentials, explained simply
- The different versions of ChatGPT
- How to use ChatGPT: a step-by-step guide
- Use cases: 20 ways to use ChatGPT
- ChatGPT vs DeepSeek vs other AI: detailed comparison
- ChatGPT pricing and plans
- ChatGPT strengths and limitations
- Tips to use ChatGPT effectively
- FAQ: frequently asked questions about ChatGPT
TL;DR - in short
ChatGPT is an AI chatbot built by OpenAI that answers your questions and generates content on demand.
The essentials:
- Free (Free tier, default model GPT-5.6 Luna as the rollout progresses) or paid: €8/month (Go), €23/month for ChatGPT Plus ($20/month in the US)
- Access: ChatGPT.com
- Best for: writing, conversation, code
- Learning curve: 5 minutes
- Multilingual: yes, excellent
What is ChatGPT? The essentials, explained simply
A simple definition
ChatGPT is an AI chatbot (a conversational robot) that can:
- Hold a natural conversation with you
- Generate text (articles, emails, code)
- Understand context and nuance
- Answer in 100+ languages
- Learn from your corrections
How does ChatGPT work?
ChatGPT runs on a large language model trained on billions of texts. It predicts the next word based on context, which produces coherent, natural-sounding answers.
Put simply: it is like a very smart autocomplete that understands what you mean.
Who built ChatGPT?
OpenAI, an AI research company founded in 2015 by Sam Altman and Elon Musk. OpenAI also built:
- DALL-E (image generation)
- Whisper (audio transcription)
- GPT-5.6 (advanced language model)
The different versions of ChatGPT
ChatGPT Free (Free tier)
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Model | GPT-5.6 Luna by default (rollout in progress), GPT-5.5 Instant for fast replies |
| Price | Free |
| Speed | Limited availability and throughput |
| Quality | Very good |
| Limit | Capped access over a 5-hour window. OpenAI publishes no fixed message count: the limits are dynamic, and ChatGPT shows the limit you hit and when it resets |
| Internet access | Yes, web search is included |
| Image generation | Yes, with limited and slower access |
| Memory | Yes, but memory and context are restricted (27K context window, roughly 12 pages of text as input) |
| Best for | Getting started, testing, occasional use |
ChatGPT Go
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Price | €8/month |
| Flagship model | Not included |
| Advanced reasoning | Not included |
| Sora | Not included |
| Agent Mode | Not included |
| Deep Research | Not included |
| Best for | Heavier use than the free tier, without the advanced features |
ChatGPT Plus
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Model | All advanced models |
| Price | €23/month ($20/month in the US) |
| Speed | Fast and stable |
| Quality | Excellent |
| Limit | Far more headroom than the free tier (the exact numbers change often) |
| Internet access | Yes (connectors) |
| Image generation | Yes (image generation included) |
| Features | Sora, Deep Research, agents, custom GPTs, connectors |
| Best for | Professional use, creative work |
ChatGPT Pro
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Model | Unlimited access to the advanced models, including extended reasoning |
| Price | From €103/month |
| Speed | Ultra-fast |
| Quality | The best available |
| Limit | Unlimited (full access to the advanced models) |
| Internet access | Yes |
| Image generation | Yes |
| Best for | Professionals, agencies, heavy use |
How to use ChatGPT: a step-by-step guide
Step 1: create an account (5 minutes)
- Go to ChatGPT.com
- Click "Sign up" (signing up is free)
- Enter your email, or sign in with Google or Microsoft
- Verify your email
- Create a password
- You are ready to go
No credit card required for the free version.
Step 2: get to ChatGPT
- Web: ChatGPT.com
- iOS: App Store (free)
- Android: Google Play (free)
- Windows/Mac app (free)
Step 3: ask your first question
- Click the text box at the bottom
- Type your question or request
- Press Enter or click Send
- Wait a few seconds for the answer
- Ask a follow-up question if you need to
Example of a first question
"Explain artificial intelligence to me in 3 simple sentences"
Step 4: get better results with better prompts
A prompt is what you ask ChatGPT. The more precise it is, the better the answer.
Bad prompt
"Write an article"
Good prompt
"Write a 500-word article on the benefits of AI for small businesses, in English, with a clear structure (intro, 3 key points, conclusion)"
Excellent prompt
"You are an AI expert. Write a 500-word article on the benefits of AI for small businesses (fewer than 50 employees). Structure: a hook of an intro, 3 concrete benefits with examples, a conclusion with a call to action. Tone: professional but accessible. In English."
Use cases: 20 ways to use ChatGPT
Writing and content
- Draft blog articles: give it a topic, ChatGPT produces a first draft
- Write professional emails: save time on the writing
- Create product descriptions: for your online store
- Write a resume or cover letter: then personalize it
- Generate content ideas: fast brainstorming
Programming
- Debug code: paste your code, ChatGPT finds the error
- Generate code: describe what you want, ChatGPT writes it
- Explain code: understand how a script works
- Optimize code: make it faster and leaner
- Learn to program: personalized tutorials
Learning and education
- Explain concepts: maths, physics, history and more
- Solve problems: step by step
- Prepare for an exam: personalized questions and answers
- Learn a language: conversation practice in English, French and more
- Do research: a quick summary of a topic
Creativity
- Write stories: fiction, scripts, dialogue
- Generate creative ideas: product names, taglines
- Write poetry: sonnets, haikus, free verse
- Come up with jokes: humor made to order
- Creative brainstorming: ideas for projects and campaigns
ChatGPT vs DeepSeek vs other AI: detailed comparison
ChatGPT vs DeepSeek
| Criteria | ChatGPT | DeepSeek |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (limited) or paid from €8/month | Free and unlimited |
| Speed | Average | Very fast |
| Writing quality | Excellent | Very good |
| Code & debugging | Very good | Excellent |
| Internet access | No (free tier) | No |
| Image generation | Yes (Plus) | No |
| French | Excellent | Excellent |
| Best for | Writing, creative work | Code, logic |
Verdict
ChatGPT for writing, DeepSeek for code.
ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini
| Criteria | ChatGPT | Claude | Gemini |
|---|---|---|---|
| Writing quality | Best | Excellent | Very good |
| Safety | Good | Excellent | Good |
| Internet access | No (free tier) | No | Yes |
| Image analysis | No (free tier) | Yes | Yes |
| Price | Free or paid (€8 to €103/month depending on the tier) | Free or 20 euros | Free or 20 euros |
| Community | Massive | Growing | Good |
Verdict
ChatGPT to get started, Claude for safety, Gemini for research.
ChatGPT pricing and plans
Prices taken from the official ChatGPT plans page for France on 7 August 2026. They vary by country and OpenAI adjusts them regularly, so check that page before subscribing.
Free plan
- Price: free, no payment card required
- Model: GPT-5.6 Luna by default (rollout in progress), GPT-5.5 Instant for fast replies
- Requests: capped access over a 5-hour window. OpenAI publishes no fixed message count: the limits are dynamic, and ChatGPT shows the limit you hit and when it resets
- Speed: limited availability and throughput
- Internet access: yes, web search is included
- Images: yes, with limited and slower access
- Best for: getting started, testing, occasional use
ChatGPT Go
- Price: €8/month
- Does not include: the flagship model, advanced reasoning, Sora, Agent Mode, Deep Research
- Best for: heavier use than the free tier, without the advanced features
ChatGPT Plus
- Price: €23/month ($20/month in the US)
- Model: all advanced models
- Requests: far more headroom than the free tier (the exact numbers change often)
- Speed: fast and stable
- Internet access: yes (connectors)
- Images: yes (image generation included)
- Features: Sora, Deep Research, agents, custom GPTs, connectors
- Best for: professional use, creative work
ChatGPT Pro
- Price: from €103/month
- Model: unlimited access to the advanced models, including extended reasoning
- Requests: unlimited
- Speed: ultra-fast
- Internet access: yes
- Images: yes (priority)
- Best for: agencies, heavy use
ChatGPT for Business
- Price: €21/user/month billed annually (2 users minimum), €26/user/month billed monthly
- Model: all advanced models
- Requests: expanded access, the details depend on the enterprise contract
- Speed: priority
- Privacy: your data is never used for training
- Admin: team management
- Best for: companies and teams
ChatGPT strengths and limitations
Strengths
- Intuitive interface: very easy to use
- Outstanding quality: high-level answers
- Versatile: writing, code, analysis, creative work
- Free to start: no barrier to entry
- Massive community: plenty of resources and tutorials
- Updated regularly: it keeps getting more capable
- Image generation: included from the free tier, with limited access, and broader on the paid tiers
- Connectors: integrations with other tools (paid tiers)
Limitations
- Limited advanced features (free tier): web search, images, data analysis and deep research are included but throttled; the GPT-5.6 Sol reasoning models, scheduled tasks and custom GPT creation stay on the paid tiers
- Slow at peak hours: overloaded servers
- Request cap (free tier): capped access over a 5-hour window, with no numeric quota published by OpenAI
- Price: €23/month for the Plus tier ($20/month in the US)
- Training data: the cutoff date moves with every model update, check the official page for the current one
- Restricted memory (free tier): memory does exist and carries context over from earlier chats, but it is tighter than on the paid tiers, with a 27K context window (roughly 12 pages of text as input)
Tips to use ChatGPT effectively
1. Be specific in your requests
Vague: "Write an article"
Specific: "Write an 800-word article on the benefits of AI for small businesses, with 3 key points, in English, professional tone"
2. Give it context
Without context: "Fix this text"
With context: "Fix this text for a tech blog, in English, accessible tone, audience: AI beginners"
3. Use the conversation
ChatGPT remembers the context within a conversation. Ask follow-up questions to refine the result.
Example
- "Write an article about AI"
- "Make it shorter"
- "Add concrete examples"
- "Rewrite the conclusion"
4. Iterate and improve
Do not treat the first answer as final. Ask for improvements:
- "Make it more engaging"
- "Add some humor"
- "Simplify the language"
- "Add statistics"
5. Check the facts
ChatGPT can "hallucinate" (invent information). Always check anything that matters, especially:
- Statistics
- Dates
- People's names
- Quotes
6. Use roles
Give ChatGPT a role to improve its answers:
"You are a digital marketing expert. Write a content strategy for an AI blog..."
"You are a maths teacher. Explain derivatives simply..."
7. Explore the advanced features
- Code Interpreter: runs Python code
- Sora: video generation (Plus and above)
- Deep Research: in-depth multi-source research (Plus and above)
- Agents and connectors: automation and custom integrations (Plus and above)
FAQ: frequently asked questions about ChatGPT
Is ChatGPT really free?
Yes, the free tier still exists and no payment card is required. Its default model is switching to GPT-5.6 Luna as the rollout progresses, with GPT-5.5 Instant still serving fast replies. OpenAI publishes no fixed message quota: free access is capped over a 5-hour window, those limits are dynamic, and ChatGPT shows the limit you hit and when it resets. ChatGPT Plus (23 EUR/month in France, 20 USD/month in the United States) adds the GPT-5.6 Sol reasoning models, extended deep research, scheduled tasks and custom GPT creation.
How long does it take to learn how to use ChatGPT?
5 minutes for the basics. Create an account (2 min), ask your first question (1 min), start using it (2 min). To master advanced prompts, count on a few days.
Can ChatGPT replace a human?
No. ChatGPT is a tool, not a replacement. It generates raw content (to be edited), helps with productivity and explains concepts. But it does not replace human creativity or human judgement, and it can invent information. Best use: human + ChatGPT = maximum productivity.
Is my data safe with ChatGPT?
Generally yes: OpenAI stores your conversations (to improve the service), you can turn that history off in the settings, and your data is encrypted. Tip: never share sensitive information (passwords, personal data).
Can ChatGPT generate images?
Yes, and from the free tier onwards: image generation is included there, with limited and slower access. The Plus tier (23 EUR/month) gives more advanced and more accurate generation, and Pro gives unlimited, faster generation.
What is the difference between ChatGPT and GPT-5.6?
ChatGPT: the web and mobile app you use to talk to the AI. GPT-5.6: the language model, the brain behind ChatGPT. Analogy: ChatGPT is the car, GPT-5.6 is the engine.
ChatGPT or DeepSeek: which one should you pick?
ChatGPT for the best writing and image generation. DeepSeek for the best code, completely free access and speed. Answer: try both (they are free) and pick your favorite.
Conclusion: ChatGPT in 2026
ChatGPT is still the most popular and the most accessible AI assistant in 2026.
Why pick ChatGPT?
- Free to start (basic version)
- The best writing quality among the AI assistants
- Intuitive interface, easy to use
- Massive community with plenty of resources
- Updated regularly with new features
- Excellent multilingual quality
Next steps
- Create a free account: ChatGPT.com
- Ask your first question: get a feel for the interface
- Explore the use cases: writing, code, learning
- Improve your prompts: be more specific
- Consider ChatGPT Plus: if you actually need it
Want to go further? Read our complete DeepSeek guide to compare it with the free alternative that gets closest to it.
Ready to try ChatGPT?
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